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Rent

Oh man - what can I say. It was great! I was sort of wondering if they would be able t pull it off or not. I have seen Rent about 9 times, in Portlan Oregon, Indianapolis, Louisville, New Brunswick NJ and about 6 times on Broadway. I have even had dinner with some of the broadway cast members. (okay so now people can see my personal homepage too)

Rent is an inspiration to me in many ways. When things look dark, when I lose my motivation and things just look dark and unsure, Rent gives me the motivation to carry on. Rent is about friendship, love and about perseverance and carrying on when things look the darkest.

The energy in the theater when the movie ended was unlike anything I have ever experienced, even during the midnight showings of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars and other movies. During the 'second act" you could here people crying. When the movie ended, there was absolute silence and no one got up for several minutes and then people started clapping. When the credits were rolling, people sat in their seats. The long row of high school students in front of us, got up and started giving each other hugs. It was just unbelievable.

Now Rent is still a movie and play that either you love or you hate. So I realize that it is not for everyone. If you have a problem with drag queens, gays and lesbians, it's propably not for you. Although there is drug use in there, it is definitely not glamorized. Actually it is the exact opposite. There is some references to sex, similar to the references in Hair. Rent is the Hair of the 90's (now the 2000's).

Additionally - they did a fantastic job of recreating the dirty, fithy NY of the 80's. If you want to know what NY was like during the 70's and 80's this is defintely the movie to see. The graffiti filled subway cars, the trash in the streets, the homeless, everything was there as it actually was. They even had a shot of the Twin Towers in there, which was very nice to see, because they weren't afraid to acknowledge that they were part of the NY skyline unlike so many other movies. They only made one mistake which I noticed - they did not change what is now the Metlife Building to the Pan Am Building. So when you see the building that says "MetLife" in large letters, that should read "Pan Am".

New Jersey is the only state honored by two resorts at Walt Disney World. The Beach Club Resort, modeled after Historic Cape May and The Boardwalk Resort, after Atlantic City. If the Jersey Shore is good enough for Walt Disney to recreate, isn't the REAL Jersey Shore even better for you and your family?

I really want to see this movie! I'm so jealous you got to have dinner with some of the original cast!

My brother has seen the Broadway production twice and he loves it. I also loved the music from Hair, so that's a good sign. When you said "Rent is the Hair of the 90s, now the 2000s" - they didn't "update" it or anything did they? [/adaptation paranoia]

I really want to see this movie! I'm so jealous you got to have dinner with some of the original cast!

Well it wasn't the ORIGINAL cast - but it was the broadway cast.

My brother has seen the Broadway production twice and he loves it. I also loved the music from Hair, so that's a good sign. When you said "Rent is the Hair of the 90s, now the 2000s" - they didn't "update" it or anything did they? [/adaptation paranoia]

No they didn't update it. But it's not like much has changed between 1990's and now the early 2000's with the overall storyline. NY is of course much cleaner than what was at the time of the the play/movie takes place. I consider the AIDS part of Rent to really be just backstory, but the true crust of it to be about friendship, love and overcoming adversity. Rent has just as much power today as it did in the 1990's while Hair deals with an entirely different era.

Must... see... movie!

Yes you must. I want to go see it again with my cousins.

New Jersey is the only state honored by two resorts at Walt Disney World. The Beach Club Resort, modeled after Historic Cape May and The Boardwalk Resort, after Atlantic City. If the Jersey Shore is good enough for Walt Disney to recreate, isn't the REAL Jersey Shore even better for you and your family?

Rent

I never saw the play on the stage - I guess it plays better live - but I did see the movie and I thought it was pretty bad. I always feel sorry for actors when they originate a role on the stage and then it goes to another actor for the movie but in this case most of these people did not look like youthful idealists - they looked (IMHO) like middle aged whiners. They passed on the offer of a free arts studio/cafe and free rent in lower Manhattan because they were "selling out" ? I guess I just felt an overall lack of credence and conviction - and as someone who has to pay the rent when you have people singing "We're not gonna pay rent!" I'm thinking - "Get A Job!" Sorry to the Rent fans.